gene m Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 After washin� all of my negatives<p> I hold them right up to the light.<p> Hoping I get the feelin�<p> That�s known as large format delight.<p> Look at the detail and tone range !<p> Check out that long depth of field..<p> I think I got all of the zones that<p> This old Tri-x can yield !<p> My composition is perfect.<p> Perspective is natural and true.<p> To hell with old Ansel Adams.<p> Forget old Mister Weston too.<p> The sky will print nicely darkened.<p> The clouds will be right I do trust.<p> But suddenly their in the corner<p> Is the twisted old demon of dust.<p> And there near that cloud in the center<p> In the middle of my perfect sky.<p> Is a clear clump of speckles so ugly<p> That it makes me just want to cry.<p> This shot of the snow and the shadows<p> Is all I could want it to be.<p> Except for those grit marks and fuzzies<p> What the hell can be wrong with me ?<p> I washed the dark slides and holders.<p> I loaded the film in the nude.<p> I stored the holders in a vacuum.<p> I am paranoid dust OCD dude.<p> Next time I load underwater.<p> I'll filter the water too.<p> If you�ve any suggestions.<p> I�d love to get word from you.<p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z_z1 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Your the best Gene! That's a hoot. I wish I had the answer as I suffer the same little dusty buggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_feldman2 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Gene, Your prose does rings true, I'm so sad to say. I'd stand on my head to keep dust away. I huff and I puff. I vacuum and blow. But the damn fuzzy dust knows just where to go. It lands in the middle of my creamy gray sky. Is my beautiful neg ruined? Yes, that's a tear in my eye. When I get 'em I say, "I'll spot 'em out later". But my spotting technique makes me a spot hater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_hawley Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Sorry for not being able to respond poetically My Engineer's head can only offer the following, pathetically. Have you considered a sterile pressurized room, fully atmospherically controlled, 100% HEPA filtered air? Instead of loading nude and running the risk of body hair contamination (unless one shaves of course), try a biological protective bubble suit. All this is easy to sell to the spouse because it can also serve as an anthrax attack shelter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce watson Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Nice. I empathize, way more than I want to. Kodak sucks. Why won't the bastards give us Tri-X in readyload? It might not make me a great photographer (little chance of that, sigh...) but it would let me concentrate on photography without spending endless hours standing on my head underwater (filtered) to load film holders, all in the name of getting rid of (I'd settle for just minimizing) dust. Oh what I'd give for a 400 speed B&W film in readyload/quickload. I've beat on Kodak's door, Ilford and Fuji too. Sadly, it's going to take a group effort - I don't think a handful of people can convince any of them to open the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry_friedman1 Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Static electricity can pull dust from the inside of your bellows onto film. Try cleaning the inside of your camera periodically. And pull the darkslide slowly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewillard Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I would like to second static charge. In fact, I find SC to be the number one reason why I experience dust. Get rid of SC and the dust will go away. I venture into the Colorado mountains for 5 day trips every other week and do a lot of loading out in the back country. I have been very successful at ridding both SC and dust. I have no vacuum cleaner or clean room to load film, yet I have managed to reduce my dust problem by 90%. Even when I do get dust on the negative, I have developed methods to correct for the dust spot so nothing is wasted. So zap that static charge, okay. And send it to the ground Straight to hell I say! And will win the round against the that evil dust that scares your precious film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_ingram1 Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Dust haiku: Dust comes from within Bellows sends a hail of spots Vacuum from now on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_mccooke Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 How about using a Zerostat gun designed for reducing the static charge (and hence the dust) on vinyl records? Can be obtained from good hi-fi stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pvp Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 <b>Dust finds a way in;<BR>it humbles our best efforts,<BR>forecasting our fate.</b> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leonard_evens Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 Try scanning. It won't get rid of the dust, but you can easily clone them out of the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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